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Why is this boy barefooted?
There's a big wall behind him. What is it made of ?
When was this photo taken?
Who gives him a cute haircut like this?
And what is this boy feeling and thinking?
I was born in Amami Oshima.
My ancestors all originate from Amami,
As you know, Amami Oshima is surrounded by nature.
It is so rich and beautiful.
The bright sunshine
The clear blue ocean
Colorful trees and birds...
I was entitled as an architect twenty years ago.
And I have built many works of architecture throughout my career.
In doing so, I realize that I am different from other architects.
The difference is that I have an ability to 'listen to materials'.
I touch them like this...
I touch them like this...
And they start speaking to me, in very soft voices...
And they start speaking to me, in very soft voices...
"There's a better way to use me."
"I don't want to be wasted."
"Please don't treat me so badly."
"I want to transform into something better."..
...I hear their silent voices.
Today I am introducing to you voices of these materials.
Today's theme is...
Now that we are in Kagoshima, I would liketo introduce to you a characteristic material of the region.
This is Ethiopian Millenium Pavillion.
Ethiopia is a very poor country.
Due to lack of money, local people build houses by piling up stones from the neighborhood.
And they put a roof over the stone house.
Without any window, it is very dark inside.
So we went to collect stones from the neighborhood.
And we added two layers of glass blocks on top of the stonewall.
We brought these glass blocks from Japan.
And a miracle happens...
The interior is filled with light. Walls andceiling are illuminated.
People start to gather in this space.
This was the story of Ethiopian Millenium Pavillion.
The second material is wood.
This is Busan Eco Center in Korea, located near the sea.
We had two requests from the client.
Firstly building materials should be eco-friendly.
Secondly the building should be considerably durable.
So, how do we respond to the two requests?
Here I choose local timber in Korea.
And we apply a traditional construction methodcalled 'yakisugi', that means 'burnt-finished timber'
By burning the surface, the material becomes more durable.
Last year we were invited from the local government of Iheya Island in Okinawa.
So we went there...
They want to build a community center of Iheya Island.
There we found windbreaking forests against typhoons...
Have you seen windbreaking forests before?
In Amami and Okinawa, there are many windbreaking forests.The trees called 'moku-mao'.
We discovered that more than half of them are dead.
The government didn't know that to do with them.
One of my staff took this picture of me touching the trees.
That is the message from the tree.
I hear that it doesn't want to be wasted and burnt. That is the message from the tree.
So, we decide to use moku-mao as building materials for walls.
I think this is the first time moku-mao is used for buildings.
The third material is earth.
Earth is available anywhere in the world.
As curing agent, magnesium oxide from seawater is used.
It reacts chemically with water in earth. And the earth gets cured.
This is our original construction method.
We spent 3 to 4 years for the development.
And we built this architecture from sundried earth bricks.
Do you remember this date?
On March 11, 2011...The Great Tohoku Earthquake hit Japan.
A few months later, I received a call
From Minami Sanriku in Tohoku.
I have been engaged in relief projects in Tohoku since 2011.
A few months later, I received a call I have been engaged in relief projects in
And the earth got totally soaked in seawater.
They say, "we heard that you have methods to use such earth for buildings..."
"Can you do something about it ?."
I said, "OK, I use magnesium oxide from seawater anyway."
We had workshops with local residents to make earth bricks.
And constructed this building by ourselves.
It is the Emergency Supply Warehouse.
This is a symbol of Kagoshima, a cross shape in a circle.
Let's think. What is the characteristic material here?
We have been working on this material since last year.
Now let's travel to the ancient times together. Where is this?
It is Rome, Italy.
There is a famous building called Pantheonin Rome.
It was built 2000 years ago.
Please take a look at this ceiling....
Do you know what this ceiling with elaborate patterns is made of?
It is very smooth and shiny.
Normally you would think stone, because it is 2000 years ago.
Surprisingly, this is made of concrete.
How was it possible to build concrete structure like this then?
And how does it last for 2000 years?
The key to these questions is...
Shirasu. or the volvanic-ash soil. You have plenty of it here in Kagoshima.
This is pretty amazing.
In Japan, Professor Takewaka at Civil Engineering Dept. of Kagoshima University...
Let me introduce Professor Takewaka here....
He has been developing shirasu concrete for seven years.
We established a research team for shirasu concrete,
with Professor Noguchi and Professor Sato of the University of Tokyo and developing shirasu concrete.
Shirasu concrete is used in civil works, but not in architecture.
Because of the Building Codes.
Our goal is to develop shirasu concrete that everyone can use,based on Professor Takewaka's research.
and make it more eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly concrete has three merits
Firstly it is very durable.
You can hopefully make it last for 2000 years like Pantheon.
Secondly, we can reduce CO2 emission during production of cement.
We need much energy to produce cement
50% of regular concrete consists of cement.
Here we succeeded in reducing CO2 by half.
Thirdly, it is 100% recyclable material.
We use recycled ingredients includging shirasu, gravel and sand.
And after the concrete is dismantled, you can make cement from it.
This is a large-scale circulation.
And after the concrete is dismantled, you can make cement from it.
Do you know which sample is shirasu concrete?
Even I cannot tell... Is this it?...
No, you can tell from the touch that it is regular concrete.
This is shirasu concrete. You can hardly tell from looking at them..
But you can tell by touching and feeling them.
As I said before, shirasu makes highly concentrated concrete.
It becomes very smooth like a babyskin.
Let's see how it feels.
Do you know which one is shirasu?
You can feel it...see?
It is very distinctive. Looks the same, but they are totally different.
This is a new eco-friendly concrete.
We expect to complete it soon.
We have already developed it, but
We need to get building approvals from the govenrment.
I suppose it is goint to take about a year.
Maybe next year we start to see new concrete in Kagoshima.
Let me show you...this is Kagoshima Airport.
We design this vaulted roof over it....
we design this for today's lecture.
It would be very nice to change the airport like this..
If any of you are staff at the airport, please don't be angry.
You see that this building
designed by Tadao Ando. This kind of shape requires a very complicated construction process.
This eco-friendly concrete has some merits.
As you know, concrete is cast into formworks.
It flows towards the lower points..
Because this concrete has high workability, it flows easily to all over the formworks.
Concrete can be cast much more easily.
And as I said before, it is very concentrated and hard.
and also structurally very strong.
Another characteristic is that it absorbs humidity and some of poisonous substances.
So when you arrive at the airport,
you feel the clean and crisp air of Kagoshima...
So refreshing.
We would like to build the airport like this.
One more thing. This is Tenmon-kan, as you know.
Sakurajima often explodes...
And you need an umbrella for protection from falling ashes...
Shirasu used to be a waste, but now it is a valuable material.
It makes money.
Maybe next year you will start using umbrellas like this...
that are opening upwards like this,
to collect shirasu from the sky.
It is the gift from Heaven.
What used to be a waste turns into gold.
When we see it from new perspectives, it is very beneficial for us.
We should thank Sakurajima for the natural blessing.
Thank you, Sakurajima!
And we should be careful not to miss the silentvoices. of forgotten materials, and also people....we should listen to these voices.
of forgotten materials, and also people....
we should listen to these voices.
Let's put your hand on your heart and listen to yourself...
Maybe you hear a different voice.
We should be grateful for nature and also our homeland for all the blessings.
Thank you, Amami Oshima, my homeland.